January 2, 2018

¡HOLA!

Well everyone, the day finally came for me to leave the comfort of the CCM. I will miss so much the fullness of the spirit and the people that have made the past six weeks a joy. I thank my teachers for all they did for me to help me learn as much as I can about teaching and about the language before I left. And my district for being such awesome people who have become my little CCM family. They will do amazing things here in the mission field.

Puebla is beautiful and the people are so kind. We took a 2 and a half hour busride from the México city airport to the mission. It was nice and the whole time was trying not to fall asleep. And then we got to the bus terminal and met our mission president and his wife right away. They are very kind and full of love for missionaries. We then drove a short distance to a building where all mission meetings are held and had a few classes about the field and how to effectively contact people in the street. It wasn't until I got here that I realized how much I have to learn. And it freaks me out a bit, but I know with the Lord on my side I can do this. 

We then were introduced to our trainers. My new companion is Elder Stone and he is also from Colorado! Small world. He has been in his mission for I believe 16 months. And he is pretty fluent in the language which will help me out a lot in my first few months. I will be here in my area "Alamos" for 12 weeks. So I will have plenty of time to learn a lot from the people here about missionary work and about the culture here in Puebla. 

We had a short devotional and then jumped right into a taxi and headed to our area. We found our house and wow is it different. There is a gate by the street and from the outside it doesnt look like much. But on the inside of the gate is a big courtyard with a garden and such. We live with some members of the church and they are so nice. It is quite humbling to not understand half of what is said though. 

We then set out with the ward mission leader to scout out the area and learn more about it. (as we are opening this area) Up until us, there have been only sisters in the area which may prove a little challenging because the investigators are used to the spirit a sister carries but I'm sure it'll turn out great. We met some members in the area and sat down and had a short little meeting with a family here. They were so kind and very understanding of my weakness in the language. And we left them with a short spiritual message that I bore testimony of in broken spanish but the spirit was felt. 

We also met the bishop who owns a bakery here in this area. He was very kind and even let me take home a little treat free of charge. We also met the Stake president and his family. They were very kind and gave us a bite to eat which was wonderful. I will say though that was the strangest take on spagetti I've ever had. Was different, but pretty good. I can tell that as I continue to focus on loving these people as I have already begun to, I will be blessed immensely. I need lots of prayers from home though for comfort and strength. This is going to be very hard. But I know I can do it. 

I love you all at home and while Sunday night was going insane in Mexico city with fireworks, music, and just lots of strange noises, I hope that all had a wonderful time on this new year. I sure know what my new years resolution is. Learn Spanish. I love this gospel and every part of this life points to the fact that it is true. Have a wonderful week everyone and Happy New Year!

With Love,

Elder Stephen Parr

Mexico Puebla North Mission